Fraud case fallout  MOCA commits to timely administration of justice after former TAJ cashiers walk free 

The two law-enforcement agencies that investigated a multimillion-dollar fraud at Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) nine years ago are now in the process of consulting the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) after the case against the five accused persons collapsed in court on Monday.

The director of public prosecutions (DPP) is Jamaica's prosecutorial authority.

The consultation with the DPP is to explore “potential options for the way forward”, the Major Organised Crime and Ant-Corruption Agency (MOCA) said in a public statement released yesterday.

Dermain Shakespeare, Kelly-Ann Wright, Sherine Leslie, Shanna-Kay Simmonds-Johnson and Sherika Stewart, all cashiers employed to TAJ at the time of their arrests in 2017, were freed in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court after a judge dismissed the charges against them for want of prosecution.

Want of prosecution is a legal term used when a case is dismissed because it was delayed for various reasons over an unreasonable amount of time.

However, legal experts told The Gleaner yesterday that the case can be reinstated against the women, but said they would have a compelling basis to challenge such a move as an abuse of the court process.

All five women were arrested during a raid at TAJ’s Cross Roads, St Andrew offices, which was conducted by MOCA, with assistance from the Revenue Protection Division and the Financial Investigations Division.

The raid was part of an investigation into a fraudulent scheme that cost the Government millions of dollars, the agencies indicated at the time.

The women were charged with conspiracy to defraud, forgery, falsification of records and larceny as a servant, but over the nine-year period since the case was first placed before the court in February 2017, it has been plagued by over three dozen adjournments and an abandoned trial.

MOCA acknowledged that over several years, the case was affected by a “range of delays due to a multiplicity of circumstances”, but said many of those issues “were outside the control of the prosecution”.

The case was prosecuted by attorneys from MOCA and the RPD, acting on a fiat from the DPP.

The agency said when the case was called up in court on Monday, the prosecution was in a position to proceed despite the fact that their attorneys were unavailable to attend.

Two of the attorneys were “affected by illness” and a third was “unable to attend court due to particular personal circumstances”, MOCA explained.

“These factors, when viewed against the background of the matter’s prolonged history, appear to have contributed directly to the court’s ruling in terminating the matter,” the statement said.

While noting that it recognised the public concern following the court’s decision to dismiss the charges, MOCA indicated that as a law-enforcement agency, it was committed not only to the vigorous investigation and prosecution of serious organised crime, fraud, and corruption, but also to the observance of fairness, due process, and the timely administration of justice. livern.barrett@gleanerjm.com